CONROE, Texas – A Conroe man who says he is disabled and battling cancer claims an encounter with police while panhandling last month turned violent, leaving him with serious injuries.
Nearly a month later, many details about what happened remain unclear after KPRC 2 obtained an incident report from the Conroe Police Department that is largely redacted.
Russell Hopkins, 42, told KPRC 2 News he was standing in a median near North Loop 336 West on December 13 holding a sign asking for donations when a Conroe police officer approached him and told him panhandling was illegal.
Hopkins, who has one arm, says he disagreed and refused to leave, believing his actions were protected under the First Amendment. Federal court rulings have generally found panhandling to be protected speech when it is non-aggressive and does not obstruct traffic.
According to Hopkins, the situation escalated moments later.
“They grabbed me from behind and slammed me to the ground,” Hopkins said. “They yanked my arm behind my back and pushed down with their knee. That’s when my collarbone broke.”
Hopkins says he was taken to the hospital after the arrest but did not learn his collarbone was broken until days later, after seeking additional medical care. He says the injury is severe enough that he is now waiting for surgery.
Limited information released
To understand what led up to the arrest, KPRC 2 News requested the incident report from the Conroe Police Department.
The document provided contains extensive redactions, with nearly all narrative sections blacked out.
The only unredacted lines state that on December 13, officers responded to a solicitation call at the 1400 block of North Loop 336 West and that Officer Rivas “took control of the remainder of the scene.” No additional details about the interaction, the arrest, or any use of force were included.
KPRC 2 News also emailed the Conroe Police Department asking why the report was so heavily redacted. The department did not respond before publication.
Hopkins says he was ultimately cited for solicitation, a Class C misdemeanor handled in municipal court. While the incident report references “interference with public duties,” Hopkins says he was never charged with that offense.
He also questions why so many officers were involved and says he was never told he was under arrest before being taken to the ground.
Hopkins says he has requested body-worn camera footage and wants the full incident record released.
“If there’s body cam, it will show what really happened,” Hopkins said.
Hopkins said the lack of publicly available information has left him with more questions than answers.
“You’re supposed to protect people, not harm them,” Hopkins said.
KPRC 2 News will continue requesting additional records, including body camera footage, and will update this story as more information becomes available.